


Fruit Basket

by thief_nim



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Eventual Romance, Left at the Altar, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Platonic Honeymoon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-08-04
Packaged: 2019-06-21 20:31:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15565851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thief_nim/pseuds/thief_nim
Summary: Left at the altar a mere forty-five minutes before he was supposed to tie the knot, Niou Masaharu figured the only logical thing to do was take his best man on his honeymoon instead. It would a perfectly platonic affair.--Art bySmoggie.





	Fruit Basket

_Masaharu,_

_I can't do this._

_This has been a game of chicken ever since we started dating, and I'm ending it before we both end up miserable. You can either keep the wedding gifts or sell them online. It's kinda shitty of me to be leaving you like this this, so you can do whatever you want with them._

_The ring wouldn't fit under the door, so it's in a box outside. Don't deserve that either, so I'm returning it. Give it to the person you actually want to spend the rest of your life with because that's not me, and you know it._

_\- Erina_

_P.S. Satsue's amazing. Find yourself a Satsue._

He laughed.

Masaharu had no idea why as there was absolutely _nothing_ funny about your fiancée leaving you for her maid of honor approximately forty-five minutes before you were supposed to get married to each other, but the snort of laughter had escaped him before he could stop it. Maybe it was a knee-jerk reaction to the realization that he'd actually been stood up on his _wedding day_.

He slumped against the wall, another incredulous laugh coming out as his grip on the piece of cardstock tightened.

Wow.

She'd really fucking done it.

Masaharu hadn't been sure she'd have the balls to do it.

Because while it might have been wrong of him to admit it, he had seen it coming. Masaharu didn't know if he would call their three-year relationship a game of _chicken_ , but he knew that his now ex-fiancée had dated the aforementioned Satsue the first half of their freshman year in university. They stayed friends since apparently, they had known each other since they were children.

But because Erina was the one to ask him out, and because Masaharu wasn't the jealous type, he took their friendship in stride. And then, when she brought up marriage when they'd been juniors and trying to figure out what they were going to do after graduation, Masaharu had figured that there was nothing to worry about. So yeah, he bought the ring and proposed over the break. They planned a spring wedding that coincided with their graduation, and everything fell into place.

Until everything fell right back out.

Now Masaharu had a pile of wedding gifts he didn't want, an engagement ring sitting outside that was going to be awkward to return, and… a honeymoon. A honeymoon he was supposed to leave for in six hours.

Great.

As he gave another considering look to the note, Masaharu felt his phone vibrate.

 **Meisa** :: no one can find your fiancée

 **Meisa** :: where is she

 **Hiroki** :: he's not supposed to know

 **Meisa** :: he knows

Oh, Masaharu _definitely_ knew. He took a moment to debate how exactly to tell his siblings before throwing caution to the wind and taking a picture of the note, sending it without any sort of comment.

 **Meisa** :: wtf

 **Hiroki** :: ???

 **Meisa** :: seriously wtf

 **Masaharu** ::  hiro is keigo with you

 **Hiroki** :: yeah why

 **Masaharu** :: ask him how hard it is to return a tailored tux

 **Hiroki** :: wait is this REAL

 **Meisa** :: oh god

 **Hiroki** :: keigo said it looks real pls tell me he's lying

Oh, if only he could.

 **Hiroki** :: masa

 **Hiroki** :: masa answer me

 **Meisa** :: i'm gonna kill her

 **Hiroki** :: we can't afford the lawyers pls don't

 **Meisa** :: better start saving up

 **Meisa** :: bc if ever see her again

 **Hiroki** :: meisa

 **Meisa** :: we're throwin hands

 **Meisa** :: and my hands are gonna reach her neck

 **Hiroki** :: MEISA NO

 **Meisa** :: *snap*

 **Masaharu** :: lov u mei

 **Hiroki ::** MASA

Masaharu pocketed his phone with a snort. It kept vibrating, and an amused simper slid onto his face as he thought of Hiroki doing his very best to keep their older sister contained.

He turned his head when he heard the knock on his door. Hiroki poked his head in hesitantly, “You okay?”

“I've had better days,” Masaharu gave a wry smile in return. He raised a brow, “Where's Mei?”

His younger brother flashed a small grin, “Trying to convince Dad it's perfectly within her legal rights as your older sister to put out a hit on Erina.” He opened the door further, stepping into the room, “Brought Keigo though.”

“Does Keigo have my dignity?” Masaharu asked. “I think I lost it somewhere.”

“I wasn't aware you had any,” Keigo's lips quirked up into a smirk as he stepped into the room. He gave Masaharu a considering look, “How are you, really?”

Masaharu shrugged, “You're the one with insight.” He put on a dramatic face, hand over his heart, “Am I gonna make it, Doc?”

Keigo and Hiroki shared a look before they sat down on either side of Masaharu.

“Your insight _sucks_ by the way,” Masaharu filled in the silence, fake annoyance leaking into his voice. “What good are you to me if you didn’t see this coming?”

Keigo snorted, “I met her _after_ you proposed.” He shrugged elegantly, one of his shoulders brushing up against Masaharu's, “I went into this wedding with the assumption that you knew what you were doing with your love life.”

“When have I _ever_ known what I was doing with my love life?” Masaharu drawled back, ignoring the voice in the back of his head that reminded him the prime example of this was sitting right next to him.

“So, what are you gonna do?” The question tumbled out of Hiroki's mouth in a jumble of words, driving the conversation forward. “You've still got the honeymoon, right?”

Masaharu leaned back against the wall, “Yeah. Too late to cancel that.”

“I might be able to make a call,” Keigo offered, reaching into his suit jacket for his phone. He raised a brow, “You decided on Athens, right?”

“London,” Masaharu rolled his eyes. “I was honestly hoping for Bath. Great architecture, not as busy.”

Keigo had paused the city destination. He gave his friend a questioning look, “That wasn't even on the original list you gave me.”

“It was, and I quote,” Masaharu pitched his voice higher in a near perfect imitation of Erina's, Osakan accent and all, “‘more _romantic_ , Masaharu. And I've always wanted to see Big Ben.’” He shrugged, “Not like she's seeing it now though.”

Keigo eyed him, “Why are you still so good at that?”

“You know you love it,” Masaharu winked cheekily.

“Whatever,” Keigo rolled his eyes, but he didn't disagree. “Do you want me to see if we can get your money back? You could still take a coach to Bath.”

“It'll be good for you,” Hiroki chimed in. “You've been dead to the world 'cause of your capstone project.”

“Aww, have you missed your big bro?” Masaharu grinned. He slung an arm over his brother's shoulder. “You can come with me, Hiro. We can even share a bed like the old days.”

Hiroki snorted out a laugh, “While I would _love_ to ditch school just like you got ditched at the alta—”

“Technically, I didn't even _make_ it to the altar,” Masaharu cut in.

“I've got training… and _my_ capstone,” Hiroki pointed out. “Life's kinda hard when you want both a degree and a four-peat.”

“Right… scratch the Niou brother getaway,” Masaharu rolled his eyes. “One of us is too much of an overachiever.” He gave Hiroki a pitiful look, “Who am I supposed to mend my broken heart with now? _Meisa?_ ”

Hiroki gave him a pointed look, “Almost all of your friends just graduated.”

“That they did,” Masaharu murmured thoughtfully. But Yuuji was about to go backpacking with his boyfriend, Bunta was getting ready to open his bakery, and the list went on. Just about everyone he knew who had graduated this term was already busy.

Wait.

His eyes slid over to Keigo, and he gave the other a considering look. “Keigo… you're one of my best friends, right?” Said best friend was looking at him like he'd grown a second head, but Masaharu couldn't help the grin that spread across his lips.

“You want me to go on your honeymoon with you.” It wasn't even a question because of course it wasn't. Keigo knew better, and Masaharu's grin widened.

“It'll be fun,” he nudged the other playfully. “Besides, you know my English is terrible.” Masaharu put on a pitiful face, “Are you really going to let me go to a foreign country, heartbroken and unable to speak the language?”

“You know, Meisa's not a _terrible_ ide—”

“Fine,” Keigo cut Hiroki off with an overly dramatic sigh. “I'm sure we can find something to do to pass the time.”

“Can't wait,” Masaharu's lips twitched up into an impish simper.

Next to him though, Hiroki's face dropped into a shocked deadpan, “You're kidding me. Did you even _think_ before agreeing?”

Keigo raised a challenging brow in response, “Do you know something I don't?”

Hiroki opened his mouth his mouth to say something, the incredulity in his expression growing, but then he paused. After shaking his head with a disbelieving scoff, he raised his hands in surrender. “You know what? Have fun.”

Masaharu rolled his eyes at his brother's dramatics. He knew there was a reason for them, and maybe Hiroki was right… it might not be the _best_ idea to go on what was supposed to be honeymoon with Atobe Keigo, of all people. But it had been over five years, and this trip was going to be perfectly platonic.

What could possibly go wrong?

 

:: ::

 

As Keigo took in the room before him, the weight of the situation he had _willingly_ walked into was starting to set in. He spared his friend a glance, “We called ahead, didn't we?”

As the trip had initially been a honeymoon, Masaharu had booked a room that matched that theme. Now that the honeymoon portion of the trip had been effectively cancelled, he and Keigo had mutually agreed that they should make sure there were no remains of it.

Masaharu nodded slowly, giving the room a look of careful trepidation, “On the way to the airport.”

Keigo sighed. Most of it was fine. The roses and candles weren't anything they couldn't ignore or get rid of, but the bed… He gently massaged his temples.

There was only one, and it was in no way large enough for them to avoid touching each other with that cliché heart-shaped design. In any other context, Keigo would make an amused comment about it, but the particular context that involved him sleeping in that bed with _Niou Masaharu?_

“Dinner's in like, twenty minutes.” Keigo looked to see Masaharu glancing down at his watch. He looked up to meet Keigo’s eyes, a hint of mischief in them, “We can just tell them to bring up a cot for you.”

“First of all,” Keigo began, “they’re bringing up another bed, not a cot. Second of all,” he gave Masaharu a dry look, “the _only_ reason I’m letting you have the main bed is because of Erina.”

“I’ll send her a fruit basket,” Masaharu drawled, slinging an arm around Keigo’s shoulders. “Come on, you’re buying me fancy drinks.”

 

:: ::

 

Keigo gave a quiet yawn as he slowly drifted out of sleep. A sliver of light was peeking out of the curtains covering the window, telling him that it was the beginnings of a bright, sunny morning. His arms were surrounding something warmer and much more comfortable than a pillow. His legs were tangled with another's. With a sleepy hum, he leaned further into the embrace, breathing in the fresh lemon scent the air around him seemed to be filled with.

… Wait.

Keigo's mind jerked awake, and his senses finally started to process what was going on. His arms? Filled with one Niou Masaharu, the other's fluffy white hair just below his nose. His legs? Tangled with one Niou Masaharu's, the heart-shaped bed they were on pushing them closer together. The lemon? The signature scent of one Niou Masaharu as long as Keigo had known him.

Oh hell.

What had happened after dinner last night? They had made arrangements for a second bed to be there when they got back, but that obviously didn’t happen. Somehow, they just decided to sleep together? Just how drunk had they been?

Keigo didn't even remember what they'd talked about at dinner, but he felt his face burn at all the possibilities. This was exactly why he shouldn't have agreed to this. Masaharu had gotten dumped just _yesterday_ , and here Keigo was, sleeping in the same bed as him. He tried to carefully remove his arms, but the second he made an attempt, Masaharu began to stir.

He yawned, nestling in closer. “Mmm… stop moving.”

Keigo froze at the voice. The last thing he needed was an awake Masaharu while he was trying to figure out how to deal with this. He steeled himself before replying, removing any and all panic from his voice. “If you were as awake as I am, you wouldn't be saying that.”

“Puri,” he mumbled back petulantly. Keigo didn't know it was possible for that sound to come across as adorable it did, but apparently, anything was possible when you slept in a heart-shaped bed. “It’s too early, and I don't care.”

“You will when you wake up,” Keigo promised in a low mutter. He put his arm back where it had been when he'd woken up and tried not to pay attention to the way Masaharu hummed in content as he nestled in even _closer_ , giving Keigo another whiff of that sweet lemon scent.

There was no way he was sleeping.

 

:: ::

 

Masaharu rolled over in bed groggily, frowning when all he felt was blankets and the mattress. He vaguely remembered something else had been in bed with him, something warm and soft and smelling like roses and vanilla. But it was gone, and Masaharu didn't like that one bit.

He sat up with a tired groan, blinking the last dredges of sleep out of his eyes. With the curtains pulled back, it looked to be late morning based on the light pouring in from the windows. Keigo was sitting at the small table in the corner of the room, sipping what Masaharu guessed was probably tea.

“Your breakfast is still warm,” Keigo said by way of greeting. “It only arrived a few minutes ago.” He smirked, “Your sleeping habits haven't changed.”

Masaharu shrugged in reply, simpering lazily, “At least you remember them.” He joined Keigo at the table, accepting the offered tea with a murmured thanks. One bite into his breakfast had Masaharu sighing in pure bliss. “Ugh, I love you.”

Then Masaharu's brain caught up with his mouth and damn it, there was a _reason_ why he didn't get close to people. He started saying things that were unfiltered in the worst way possible. He looked to Keigo carefully, and sure enough, the other was already looking at him. They stayed that way for a moment too long, and Masaharu had absolutely no desire to find out what Keigo could have been thinking about.

Eventually, Keigo chuckled, and Masaharu didn't know if it sounded like the other was forcing it out or if he had finally gone crazy. Either way, he was glad they were past whatever the hell that had been a few seconds ago. “You really haven't changed, have you?”

“Have too,” Masaharu bit back cheekily before taking a bite out of his sausage.

Keigo shot him an amused glance, “The hair doesn’t count.”

“Of course not,” Masaharu rolled his eyes before fluttering his lashes. “It’s what’s on the inside that truly matters.”

All that earned him was scoff, “And on the inside, your circadian rhythm is still as shoddy as it’s always been.” Keigo raised a brow at him, “Do you know how many times Munehiro thought you were _dead_ at camp?”

“Sleeping in is an _artform_ ,” Masharu shrugged emphatically, taking another bite out of his meal. He winked, pitching his voice to match his friend’s, “He was probably in awe of my prowess.”

At Keigo’s deadpan to shut up and eat his breakfast, Masaharu could only laugh.

 

:: ::

 

The two had left London after two days, moving north up to York. The original honeymoon itinerary had encompassed little more than lovey dovey walks around Hyde Park and typical tourist destinations, but they were in agreement that there were better things they could be doing with their time. When Keigo had asked Masaharu where else he wanted to go aside from Bath, he’d received a surprisingly detailed list in return. Now that they’d gotten started on checking off destinations, Keigo understood why.

“So, the whole idea of the Gothic style with all the pointed arches came from monastic ruins like Rievaulx,” Masaharu explained as they walked through the remains of former abbey. His lips quirked up into a smirk, “It’s kind of ironic because Cistercian monks were the isolationist kind.”

Keigo hummed in response, letting his eyes slide across the tranquil landscape around them. Aside from the museum near the entrance to the ruins, there was nothing to be seen for miles but nature.

“Entirely self-sufficient and set up in the middle of nowhere, but people still fell in love with them enough for _two_ separate Gothic revivals and the Rural Gothic housing style in North America,” Masaharu continued on, glancing at Keigo with an amused grin. “Ironic... but interesting, don’t you think?”

Keigo nodded, “And a potential social commentary about privacy.” He smiled when Masaharu snorted out a laugh, the sound oddly attractive. "You're a fan of postmodernism, right?"

"Some people think it deserves a new name because of the current connotation, but yeah," Masaharu nodded, a wistful smile on his face that made Keigo feel warm. "To me, it's a timeless age."

He watched, fascinated as the gears turned in Masaharu's mind. "There's this complexity of thought where you can have thousands of stories, emotions, and styles that all play a role in creating something new. Sometimes, it'll contradict itself, but that's part of the fun," Masaharu shrugged, a grin teasing at his lips as they turned another corner in the ruins. "There aren't any rules to it, just this critique of the world and ourselves and looking for new ways to bring that to life." Masaharu paused briefly, looking at Keigo carefully, "This is usually where Erina cuts me off."

Keigo wanted to frown at the unasked question, but he knew that would only send the wrong message. "I am obviously not your former fiancée," he gave Masaharu a pointed look before softening into something gentler. "Tell me more."

And as Masaharu continued on, his golden eyes lighting up, Keigo only had one thought: He was beautiful, completely and utterly beautiful.

 

:: ::

 

A few days later, Masaharu found himself and Keigo back in their hotel room after spending some time running around Cardiff. They still only had a single bed, which they were both sitting on at the moment, closer than they needed to be. But if Keigo wasn't going to say anything about it, neither was Masaharu. After all, they were planning on checking out early and heading the Bath for the grand finale of their entirely platonic honeymoon.

They just had to make it one more night.

“You know, I have to ask,” Keigo posed his question slowly, carefully, and it made Masaharu pay attention that much more. “Are you _really_ okay with everything that’s happened with Erina?”

Masaharu sighed quietly, leaning back on his hands. “I wasn’t at first, but _of course_ I wasn’t. I thought I was going to marry her, and she left me.” He frowned lightly, “It wasn’t a good feeling.” He shrugged, “Now, though? I’m okay.” He cast Keigo a glance, “This week has been great, so thanks.”

"You don't need to thank me," Keigo shook his head. He looked thoughtful for a moment, "In fact, I should be thanking you."

"Why?" Masaharu quirked a brow, "Did you almost get married and not tell me?"

Keigo rolled his eyes, but he was smiling all the same. "This is actually my first real vacation since I started working last year." He sighed quietly, "Once we get back, I have to sit in on meetings for a renovation of one of our theme park attractions, and it's going to take up all of my time."

"Wait, really?" Masaharu sat up straighter. "I thought you working with finance."

"I've been moving through different departments and properties," Keigo clarified. "I need to understand every area of the conglomerate if I want to successfully run it all one day."

"Makes sense." A small, impish grin slid onto Masaharu's face, "Guess I'll see you in some meetings then."

After a brief display of confusion, Keigo's eyes widened in realization. " _You_ are the inexperienced but promising architect my grandfather was telling me about."

"My capstone was a project with the firm," Masaharu's grin grew. "Your grandpa asked for something new and exciting, and since I'm the resident postmodernist, my dad let me give it a try." His grin turned teasing, "You won't be able to get rid of me that easily when we get back."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Keigo chuckled. "You know, we wouldn't have to wait for work to bring us back together if we had just applied to the same universities." He gave Masaharu a knowing look, "You would have easily been accepted into my alma mater."

“My English is _shit_ ,” Masaharu reminded him. “Your only chance of getting me to go with you was choosing something German.”

“Considering how much I missed meeting up with you, I might just have chosen a German university if I could turn back the clock.” At Masaharu’s disbelieving side eye, Keigo doubled down, “Really. It was almost odd how I got so used to seeing you all the time.”

“I missed you too, but it’s not weird,” Masaharu snorted. “I gave you a two-week crash course in switching places, and then the first time we actually tried it out was an international tennis tournament with cameras _everywhere_.” His lips curled in a simper, “We got pretty close in an insane amount of time.”

“I can’t believe people were fooled into thinking I was you,” Keigo shook his head, chuckling. “I couldn’t even play left-handed back then.”

“We ironed out the kinks eventually,” Masaharu wore an amused grin. “I mean, you met my parents as me.”

“And you met mine as your _sister_ ,” Keigo said with a thoughtful smile.

“I did, didn’t I?” Masaharu laughed. His grin softened to a smile. “High school was a trip...”

And as Keigo smiled back at him, the small one that he sometimes let slip without realizing, Masaharu noticed just how _close_ they were to each other. In fact, Masaharu could probably get an accidental kiss out of this if he actually tried. That would probably ruin their friendship, but they’d already bounced back from something like that before, so who’s to say they couldn’t do it again?

His eyes flickered down to Keigo’s lips briefly, and when he looked back up at Keigo… that was a _look_ if Masaharu had ever seen one. Throwing caution to the wind, he leaned in, and _thank fuck_ , Keigo was leaning in as well.

  


 

Then Masaharu’s phone started to vibrate loudly from its place on the nightstand. He and Keigo jerked apart from each other, wide eyed and bewildered, as if a spell had just been broken.

“I think—”

“I should—”

They paused, too awkward to keep going. Masaharu’s phone continued to vibrate in the otherwise silent room.

“I… I’m going to go take a shower.” Masaharu could only give a tight nod as Keigo left the bed in record time.

Masaharu didn't move from his spot until he heard the quiet metallic thud of the lock on the bathroom door. Exhaling heavily, he grabbed his phone from the nightstand. Groaning when he saw the missed caller, he called them back. Masaharu listened as the ring back tone cut off with a click, “You better have broken an ankle.”

Hiroki didn’t reply immediately, obviously expecting him to say something else. _“... What were you and Keigo doing when I called you?”_

“Absolutely nothing,” Masaharu’s reply came out as an annoyed grumble.

 _“No way in hell I believe that,”_ His brother snorted. _“What’d you do, try to kiss him?”_

Masaharu pointedly did not reply.

 _“You have_ got _to be kidding me!”_

 

:: ::

 

As Keigo stepped under the spray of the shower head, he wished that he actually did have control over ice because this shower wasn’t nearly as cold as it needed to be.

Keigo could count the number of times he had ever done something he considered to be idiotic on one hand.

This was one of those times.

What did he think he was doing, trying to kiss a man that had been _engaged_ not even a week ago?

A man he had accidentally turned down seven and a half _years_ ago.

Their first World Cup together had been a whirlwind experience that neither of them had seen coming. They'd never really been on each other's radar until the U17 camp had started, and suddenly, they were drawn together like moths to a flame. Masaharu didn't have to take care of Munehiro in his place while on the mountain, but he did, and Keigo had been both incredibly fascinated by the imitation and undeniably touched at the gesture.

Their friendship had developed quickly, and it was deeper than their peers had realized. There were evenings where Keigo would wander into Room 214 without any real reason, and he and Masaharu would spend hours talking. It was almost scary how natural it had been, how easily Keigo had been able to find out things about Masaharu that very few others knew.

Sure, he had been given a crash course in switching places, but Keigo knew for a fact that finding out Masaharu was connected to a traveling circus and hadn't needed to train much for his Kikumaru imitation was not something he _needed_ to know.

Masaharu had told him because he trusted him, and Keigo trusted Masaharu just as much.

But then, Japan lost to Germany in the quarter-finals.

Keigo would easily admit it: He had had a crush on Tezuka Kunimitsu for a solid year and a half. But the things people whispered about him during the World Cup, the things people had whispered about why he and Masaharu were so close? Those things simply weren't true.

But Masaharu had heard those things.

Masaharu had _asked_ him about those things.

Keigo had paused long enough to look suspicious, and all hell broke loose.

They had spent so much time getting to know each other that they had ammo most didn't, and they used it. Keigo hadn't even realized that he felt so strongly about Masaharu until it was too late. They traded insults that had cut far too deep for either of them to stop, and so they didn't. They hurt each other, burning bridges and not looking back.

Until Masaharu showed up in his German class the first day of high school.

And while Keigo wished that they had reconciled with each other, they didn't. Instead, he and Masaharu chose to dance around the issue on the table until it fell off due to all the hoops they jumped through trying to make things seem normal between each other. Then they shoved the issue under a rug and pretended that it had never existed because they mutually refused to acknowledge it.

Time went by and somehow, they had become friends again. But only friends, never anything more.

Their other friends made sure of it.

While some were content with simply eyeing their new relationship with thinly veiled trepidation, others took a more direct approach. Keigo still remembered showing up to U17 camp as a second year in high school and somehow ending up alone in a room with a quietly pissed off Yagyuu Hiroshi. The gentleman had been very clear that if another fight happened, Keigo might not live to see his inheritance.

Something about that threat felt very real despite how politely it had been delivered.

Masaharu had never found out because Masaharu hadn't needed to find out. Keigo was taking that one to grave.

Besides, their relationship was fine as is. It didn't matter what he felt towards Masaharu, what he'd felt for almost eight years, Keigo couldn't do this, not now. He had lasted all this time without acting on his feelings, and he wasn't about to ruin things by taking advantage of Masaharu's current situation.

Keigo turned off the water, his head clear.

He knew what he had to do.

 

:: ::

 

Masaharu’s head snapped up at the bathroom door opening. He met Keigo’s eyes as the other stepped out, wearing a change of clothes Masaharu hadn’t even known he’d taken in there with him.

He’d been too busy trying to think of how he was going to lie to Hiroki about the past few days.

Not a single lie he’d thought of had been successful.

“Gotta go, Hiro,” Masaharu muttered into his phone.

 _“Masaharu, don’t you_ dare _hang up!”_ Hiroki’s protests were loud enough that Masaharu was pretty sure Keigo could hear them in the otherwise silent hotel room, _“You and Keigo have been do—”_

“Okay, love you, bye,” the words tumbled out of his mouth all too quickly as he cut off the phone call. Masaharu gave a loud sigh as he shoved his phone into his pocket. He looked up at Keigo, a tight smile on his face, “Hi.”

“Masaharu,” Keigo began, and _oh god,_ Masaharu knew that tone of voice. He had _practiced_ that tone of voice, and he did _not_ want to hear it now of all times. “I shouldn’t have done that to you, and I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Masaharu shook his head, “I’m not mad at you.”

Keigo took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “But you _should_ be, and that’s the problem.” Masaharu opened his mouth to say something, but Keigo filled in the silence before he could, “No, Masaharu. You were engaged to someone else not even a week ago.” Keigo gave him a very emphatic look, trying to drill his words into Masaharu’s brain. “You were getting ready to get _married_ , and I was going to be your best man.”

“Okay, _true_ , but Erina has nothing to do with this.” In fact, Erina might even _encourage_ this. She told him to find himself a Satsue, and yeah, Keigo was Satsue enough for Masaharu.

But Keigo was going on about all the reasons why they shouldn’t be kissing, and Masaharu was barely even listening at this point. He just wished that he wasn’t so far away because honestly, Masaharu was pretty sure an actual kiss would be enough to end that entire argument about ‘no kisses.’ He rolled his eyes, “You know, it’s not exactly a _strange_ thing for honeymoons to involve kissing.”

Keigo looked like he was going to pull his hair out at that one. Masaharu bet that he was seconds away from pacing around the room. “I don’t know why you feel like saying these things and making feel me like I’m fifteen again when we both know that that is the _last_ thing we need to happen.”

Masaharu knew that he shouldn’t do it, but he couldn’t help himself. “Please don’t tell me you only came on this trip because of Tezuka.” His grin was tight, “That’ll _actually_ kill the mood.”

If looks could kill.

“ _That_ ,” Keigo snapped. “That is _exactly_ why we can’t be kissing each other. You still think I partnered with you in middle school because you could imitate Tezuka.” When Masaharu didn’t say anything to contradict that, Keigo nodded to himself. “You say it like you’re joking, but it still bothers you, doesn’t it?” He held up a hand, “No, don’t answer that. I already know it does because we never _talked_ about it. I’ve switched with you enough times to know what that means.”

Well, damn.

“And _yes_ , I took too long to answer you when you asked me, but I didn’t do that because it was _true_ ,” Keigo shook his head. “I did that because I was genuinely shocked.” He paused, as if he was debating with himself whether or not he should continue. “I couldn’t understand why anyone would prefer you as Tezuka when I fell in love with you because you’re _you_.”

“But then we said those things to each other, and it didn’t even matter if I loved you because there was no way we would ever be together after that,” Keigo continued on, barely even giving Masaharu the time he needed to process his previous statements. “And now, here we are, _seven and a half years later_ , and you think you want me to kiss you, but you don’t actually want that. You’re just saying that because you were recently hurt, and I _cannot_ take advantage of you like that, Masaharu, especially when I feel the way I do about you.”

And then, silence filled the space between them.

“... For the record, you’re not taking advantage of me,” Masaharu pointed out after a moment. Keigo opened his mouth to say something, but Masaharu beat him to it, “I sat here and let you monologue, so now _you’re_ going to listen to _me_.” He couldn’t help the incredulous laugh that came next, “This isn’t some weird rebound or me not being able to deal with being dumped, this is—” And now it was Masaharu’s turn to pause because… he hadn’t admitted this to anyone in a very long time. He shrugged helplessly, “You’re not the only one who had a middle school crush.”

Keigo’s eyes widened a fraction, “Oh hell.”

“Yep,” Masaharu deadpanned in reply.

Keigo groaned, “We’re too _old_ for this.”

Masaharu rolled his eyes, “It’s not like we’re thirty or something.” He slid off the bed, a small smile tugging on his lips. “Besides, this is kind of what we deserve.”

“How so?” Keigo challenged, an amused smirk teasing at his lips.

“When we were younger, we acted like we knew everything about everyone,” Masaharu chuckled as the space between them grew smaller. “Of course we would screw this up.”

“I almost had to watch you marry someone else,” Keigo reminded him. “That’s a bit more than simply screwing up.”

“Think of it this way,” Masaharu teased, unable to stop the giddy feeling growing inside of him, “we get _two_ honeymoons now.”

Keigo rolled his eyes in exasperation before leaning down to kiss him, and _oh god_ , it was just as amazing as Masaharu was expecting it to be.

When they parted, Keigo chuckled lowly. “Maybe now, Yagyuu will stop threatening my life.”

Masaharu’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Is _that_ why you always avoided him?” And Keigo’s face was so priceless that Masaharu can’t help but burst out laughing.

Yagyuu had been among the last of his friends to stop giving Keigo side eyes when they’d shown up to regionals in high school pretending nothing had happened between them, but Masaharu never would have guessed his former doubles partner would make a realistic enough threat to keep Keigo on edge. Then again, with Yagyuu heading off to law school, it would eventually be all too easy to get away with whatever it was he had threatened to do.

And that thought was enough to keep Masaharu giggling against Keigo’s lips when they kissed again, sweet and tender and indescribably perfect.

Erina might just get that fruit basket.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! i tried to appropriately age these two up based on where i think their characters are headed, so i hope you enjoyed it ;3
> 
> again, this beautiful art was done by [smoggie](https://twitter.com/cubitfoxtar)! go show him love and affection c:


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